Pulsing H20 Pump

[Courser Farm]

EDIT: While this was for 5 days, recent 3 day trips did not exhibit this, nor does it at home.

Hi: We were gone for 5 days, (longest for this new camper) all went well but on the last day our pump began to really pulsate a lot, all the time. I filled the water tank 2nd to last day. ( we don't use city water ) I looked it up and am told it is sort of normal for the pump to regulate pressure that way but I don't like it. Does it require an adjustment on the pump? Which we shall have to locate anyway for good measure. As always you folks are founts of information. TIA

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Courser Farm

EDIT: While this was for 5 days, recent 3 day trips did not exhibit this, nor does it at home.

Hi: We were gone for 5 days, (longest for this new camper) all went well but on the last day our pump began to really pulsate a lot, all the time. I filled the water tank 2nd to last day. ( we don't use city water ) I looked it up and am told it is sort of normal for the pump to regulate pressure that way but I don't like it. Does it require an adjustment on the pump? Which we shall have to locate anyway for good measure. As always you folks are founts of information. TIA

Pulsating while using water or pulsating while not using water? Makes a bid deference. If you ran out of water (you said you filled the tank) then the pump could have siucked air and pumped it into the line. After using water for a while the air could have purged out of the lines and now it's working correctly. It's NOT NORMAL for the pump to run, stop, run again IF water is not being used.

If the pump is running steady but water "pulsates" coming out of the faucet then that can be normal (hard to describe what is or is not acceptable) but installing an accumulator tank will help that.

[Courser Farm]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Pulsating while using water or pulsating while not using water? Makes a bid deference. If you ran out of water (you said you filled the tank) then the pump could have siucked air and pumped it into the line. After using water for a while the air could have purged out of the lines and now it's working correctly. It's NOT NORMAL for the pump to run, stop, run again IF water is not being used.

If the pump is running steady but water "pulsates" coming out of the faucet then that can be normal (hard to describe what is or is not acceptable) but installing an accumulator tank will help that.

Marshall- thanks this helps. NO the pump DOES NOT run unless water is turned on. And yes it was as close to empty as likely possible. I'll run it some now here (not to empty) at home and fill it again here.

[flybouy]

If it wasn't sucking air another possibility could be some debris was caught in the pump that allowed the pressure to bleed off and it cleared. Does your pump have a strainer? If not, I'd suggest adding one to the suction line. It could save you from tearing apart the toilet flush valve or cleaning out the faucet strainers some day.

[JRTJH]

My FloJet pump will cycle on/off if there is a faucet "trickling water". As an example, when the shower head is turned off, it "dribbles" to remind you the faucet is turned on. So, when showering, the pump runs constantly. When turning the shower head to "navy shower position" it only drips a small dribbling stream"... That's when my FloJet water pump will begin to cycle. It'll run for 3 or 4 seconds, shut off for 5-6 seconds, then run for 3-4 seconds again...

What's happening in that situation is the plumbing lines are acting as an accumulator, holding and modulating water pressure. When the pressure sensor in the pump head gets low enough, the pump turns on, rapidly builds pressure, then as the shower head leaks down, the pump senses "low pressure" and cycles again... This is perfectly normal and expected.

So, depending on the "conditions" when your pump is cycling, it's probably "what it's supposed to do"...

What you DO NOT want, is for the pump to cycle on momentarily when there is no water being used in the trailer. Hearing the pump "burrrrrp" in the middle of the night when nobody used the toilet, is a clear sign of a pressurized water system leak. In that case, you need to find the leak and fix it. That is not the same as a cycling pump when a low flow faucet condition causes the plumbing runs to act like an accumulator tank......

Watch your trailer and see if you can identify the above.... You should easily replicate it by barely turning on the cold water faucet until the pump "burrrrrps" and then starts to cycle. Increase the faucet flow and the cycling should become a "constant pump flow"..... All perfectly normal....

[Courser Farm]

Thanks John. It definitely is not running at all except when the water is turned on. We've had pumps cycle in the past due to small leaks that we repaired, but this is only when the water is running intentionally. Stay tuned, I'll post what I find out in a day or so. Thanks.

[Courser Farm]

Marshall, don't know yet if it has a strainer. Haven't gone looking for it. Last camper was easy as it was under a couch! Will advise when I get around to finding it. It does NOT cycle like one does when there is a leak. Been there done that on last unit. Thanks.

[dutchmensport]

Unless you have installed an air pressure tank into your camper water lines, your water pump will pulsate on-off-on-off, depending on how fast you turn on your faucets.

If the faucets are turned on full, or taking a shower, the pump will run constantly and turn off when done.

Adjust the pressure from the pump will serve no purpose and here is why.

I takes only about 2 ounces.... yes ... ounces ... of water for the pump to turn on ... and it only needs 2 ounces of water to bring it up to pressure. That is because there are NO air pockets in the water line that can work as an air pressure tank. Sometime, there is an air pocket at the top of the water heater that works as a pressure tank. When air gets trapped in the top of water heater, it may allow the water to run longer between cycles, but will also take longer to bring the entire plumbing system back up to the point the pressure is high enough the pump turns off.

This is the reason the water pump turns on-off-on-off so quickly. Again, once the output (open faucet) equals, or is greater than the output of the water pump, the pump continues to run without stopping.

It is what it is. They pulsate. That's what they are suppose to do.

[Courser Farm]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

Unless you have installed an air pressure tank into your camper water lines, your water pump will pulsate on-off-on-off, depending on how fast you turn on your faucets.

If the faucets are turned on full, or taking a shower, the pump will run constantly and turn off when done.

Adjust the pressure from the pump will serve no purpose and here is why.

I takes only about 2 ounces.... yes ... ounces ... of water for the pump to turn on ... and it only needs 2 ounces of water to bring it up to pressure. That is because there are NO air pockets in the water line that can work as an air pressure tank. Sometime, there is an air pocket at the top of the water heater that works as a pressure tank. When air gets trapped in the top of water heater, it may allow the water to run longer between cycles, but will also take longer to bring the entire plumbing system back up to the point the pressure is high enough the pump turns off.

This is the reason the water pump turns on-off-on-off so quickly. Again, once the output (open faucet) equals, or is greater than the output of the water pump, the pump continues to run without stopping.

It is what it is. They pulsate. That's what they are suppose to do.

Thank you. Valuable info. But it still raises the question to me: why was it so smooth thru a combined 10-12 days did it never do it? It is now whump- whump- whump…. Before it was “just” like any small sure flo pump with relatively quiet “pumping” ?

[LHaven]

Maybe you have an air pocket trapped in something you haven't yet bled. Outdoor shower is the usual culprit. Unused fitting for washer/dryer is another.